Sid Vicious

As the bassist for The Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious had a part in making rock history, even if his contribution was more about image and attitude than music. Born Simon Ritchie in London, England, he met future bandmate John Lydon at Hackney Technical College. By 1976 he and Lydon, rechristened Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, respectively, were part of the iconoclastic young crowd that was sowing the first seeds of punk in England. Vicious was the frontman for The Flowers of Romance, a band that never made it out of their rehearsal space but was notable for including future members of Public Image Ltd., The Slits, and Adam and the Ants. Soon after, he briefly played drums with Siouxsie & The Banshees. But his run-in with history really arrived in 1977 when bassist Glen Matlock departed The Sex Pistols and Vicious's friend Rotten brought him in as the replacement. Vicious was nearly incompetent on the instrument, but he was chosen more for his look and his confrontational, rebellious nature, as the Pistols were as much about provocation as anything else. Due to his musical shortcomings, Vicious played on only one track on the band's legendary 1977 album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. Guitarist Steve Jones did double duty on bass, even laying down a part to obscure Vicious's lone contribution on "Bodies." The Pistols' shows in this period were such a circus that Vicious's outrageous, sometimes violent onstage antics more than made up for what he lacked in musical acumen. By this time, Vicious had developed a heroin habit, which worsened after the Pistols split in '78 and Vicious and his girlfriend and fellow addict Nancy Spungen started spiraling downward. Moving to New York, Vicious had a brief solo career, working with member of The New York Dolls, but he recorded only a few songs before his life finally fell apart. In October of 1978 he was arrested for the murder of Spungen, with whom he was living. Shortly afterwards he attempted suicide and was institutionalized. After his release he was arrested again in December for assaulting Patti Smith's brother Todd. Vicious made bail, but on February 1, 1979 he died of a heroin overdose. He became larger in death than in life, with his legend eventually inspiring the 1986 biopic "Sid and Nancy."